Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to sweep the Municipal Corporation of Delhi next, if exit polls are to be believed. Elections to the National Capital's civic body took place on April 23, and it appears that the Delhi ki Aam Janata prefers the lotus over the Aam Aadmi Party's broom. A day prior to the vote counting, the exit polls revealed that the saffron party will clinch over 200 of the 272 wards in the MCD.
An exit poll conducted by ABP News predicted that BJP will get 218 seats out of 272, Aam Aadmi Party was predicted to get 24 and the Congress to get 22. The MCD is divided into three parts- North, South, and East, and individual breakdown verified BJP's dominance. The saffron party was predicted to clinch 88 seats in the 101-seat North Delhi Municipal Corporation, with AAP and Congress in the backleg with six and seven seats respectively. In South Delhi, BJP is expected to win 83 seats, while AAP and Congress could win nine seats apiece. In comparatively smaller 62-seat East corporation, BJP is seen to be ahead with 47 seats, while AAP and Congress get nine and six seats each.
Taking a similar tone, the India Today-Axis poll gave BJP a lead of between 202 and 220 seats. It stated that the national party would clinch somewhere between 78 to 84 seats in the NDMC, 79-85 in the south, and 45-51 in the east. It too placed AAP and Congress neck and neck for second place, with the former just about inching ahead with 23-35 seats as against 19-31 for the latter. Extremely satisfied with the exit polls, BJP Delhi president Manoj Tiwari attributed the victory prediction to Modi. “Exit poll results are according to our expectations. Modi has won the hearts of people from sections of society. The BJP has taken all its decisions for the welfare of India while the AAP has looted citizens of Delhi,” he said.
However, the predicted rout did not go down well with Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, who warned that he would launch a “movement” if the exit polls forecasting a BJP victory come true. Addressing a group of poll observers at his residence, Kejriwal said AAP workers and elected representatives are “connected” with people on a daily basis and they know the ground reality. “Agar fir bhi aise result aate rahe hain... agar result kal jaise aate hain... toh hum eenth se eenth baja denge, (If the final results are the same as predicted, we will launch a movement)” the CM can be heard saying in a video that went viral on the internet.
The Aam Aadmi Party has been raising the issue of EVM tampering since its failure to win the Punjab assembly elections. It had also raised questions on EVM without VVPAT being used in MCD polls and demanded state election commission to hold polls through paper ballot. Speaking at Kejriwal's residence, Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai said, “EVMs would be the sole reason for the kind of result being predicted by pollsters.” He said if EVMs were at play then these surveys are 100 per cent correct.
Congress leaders avoided drawing conclusions based on these surveys, instead advising patience till 26 April, when votes will be counted. "These (polls) violate moral code of conduct. The results will come on 26 April. Let us wait till then," Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed said.
